USC – Notre Dame: USC's Real Rivalry Is Next Week

The USC vs. Notre Dame game has been called the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football.  Actually, it used to be before Pete Carroll put his imprint on the annual matchup.

Every college football fan knows what has happened since then; seven consecutive Trojan victories.  Most of them beat downs by an average score of 40.6 – 13.6.

But not this year.  Oh, no, the media have been telling us.  Charlie Weis, they say, finally has his team.  The past two years he has been forced to use Ty Willingham’s recruits.  Now Weis has his talent in place.

And that talent, of course, is headed by junior quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, the No. 1 rated quarterback in the nation for passing efficiency.

But what Weis doesn’t have is that innate reliance on his ability to be a winning coach against top-ranked teams.  If he did, he and his players wouldn’t be running around all week remarking that this time they actually believe they can win.

Why would any Notre Dame team believe they couldn’t win?  That belief comes from the top down and pervades through every player, the equipment managers, the cheerleaders, the alumni, and fans.

The fact is that Weis is more apt to over-coach rather than out-coach a top-ranked opponent like USC.  It is his ”If I can’t dazzle you with my brilliance, I will stupefy you with my finesse” philosophy that has opened the door for a team like the Trojans to embarrass the Irish as they have done the past several years.

Weis has changed Notre Dame from a tough, smack-mouth football program to a finesse team.  There was nothing wrong with Ty Willingham’s recruits except that they weren’t finesse players.  But they were coachable.

It was Ty Willingham’s recruits that handed USC its only loss this year.  It was Ty Willingham’s recruits that should have beaten Charlie Weis’ finesse team a couple weeks ago.

This is why I say that the real rivalry game for USC isn’t tomorrow but next week when the Trojans will face the Oregon State Beavers.

Why?  Because Oregon State has a truly decent coach who knows how to communicate with his players.  None of the dazzle you with my brilliance stuff.  None of this time we really believe we can win stuff.

Mike Riley’s Oregon State Beavers are the only team to beat Pete Carroll’s Trojans twice since 2002.  They are the only team to beat an undefeated Trojan team and knock them out of the No. 1 ranking not once but twice. 

In fact, out of the last four times they have played USC, the Beavers have won half of those games.  Incredible, isn’t it?

No, not at all.  Mike Riley beat the Trojans at Pete Carroll’s own game—competition. They smashed USC right in the chops and dared the Trojans to stop them.

No, eight guys in the box.  They just lined up head-to-head and competed.

That’s what Notre Dame has to do tomorrow.  Line up head-to-head and run the ball right down USC’s throat.  But they won’t. 

Because Charlie Weis has to impress alumni and fans with his coaching brilliance.

Instead, he has built this team around Jimmy Clausen and will rest his game plan squarely on Clausen’s shoulders.  Weis and the entire Irish team will depend on Clausen to come up with another spectacular finish.

There’s only one problem with that:  If they rely entirely on Clausen’s arm instead of running the ball right at that heralded USC defense, Clausen may not be around to finish.

I know Irish fans will call me a Charlie Weis hater.  But I don’t hate Coach Weis.  I more or less pity him for the buffoon he has become among the ranks of legitimate college coaches.

I’m not a Notre Dame hater either.  I’m a realist.  I grew up in Philadelphia, at the time, a predominantly Fighting Irish city much like Chicago.  I followed the Irish religiously as a kid.  Heck, I almost enrolled there.

But at this point, I have to call them as I see them.  Mike Riley and his Oregon State team have a bye week and will be loaded and ready for the Trojans.

Next week is the real rivalry.


Trojan Notes & Quotes

Pete Carroll said that all the players who made the trip to Notre Dame are ready to play. That includes Ronald Johnson, Malcolm Smith, Averell Spicer, Brian Baucham, and Armond Armstead.

Carroll said that Armstead will start the first series but he will rotate after that.

Also, C. J. Gable, who bruised his knee on a kickoff return at practice yesterday morning, is also expected to go.

While the big news for the receiving corps is Ronald Johnson's return, don't think De'Von Flournoy has lost his red-shirt year for no reason.  He could be the Trojans' secret weapon on offense if not in this game, then somewhere down the line.

Also I would expect David Ausberry to play as many snaps as RoJo.  Even though he isn't the big pass catching threat that RoJo is, he is like having an eligible lineman downfield to block for the receiver.  He is one of the best downfield blocking receivers in college football.

About the Grass at Notre Dame Stadium, Carroll said, "It's not an issue.  I never thought it was."